Category: Action/Thriller
The Recruit by Fiona Palmer
(Cover picture courtesy of NetGalley.)
From one of Australia’s Queens of Romance comes the debut in a brand new YA series about secrets, strengths, and what lies beneath the surface.
Jasmine Thomas may not be completely normal, but she’s a pretty typical seventeen-year-old girl. She hates the rich mean kids, loves her best friends, and can’t wait to get out of school each day. Her spare time is spent at The Ring — a boxing gym where she practically grew up — learning karate, boxing and street fighting. So, yeah, Jaz can kick some major butt.
Life seems pretty normal until the day Ryan Fletcher enters her gym…mysterious and hot with heaps of bad boy charm. Sure, she checks him out. Who wouldn’t? But what doesn’t show on his gorgeous abs are secrets and lies that dominate his very grown-up world. Now Jaz has to figure out just how far she is willing to go to know more. Could Ryan really be offering the life-fulfilling life path she’s always dreamed of?
[Full disclosure: I was approached by the publisher and accepted a free ebook through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
I have to be honest here when I say that contemporary YA romance is generally not my thing. It never really has been and likely never will, but with books like The Recruit I’m always willing to try. So that’s why I accepted the invitation to read and review Fiona Palmer’s newest release.
I was both pleasantly surprised and slightly disappointed by The Recruit. On one hand, I was surprised that the romance element was actually somewhat realistic and that the heroine was well fleshed-out. On the other hand, it was disappointing that I could predict almost every supposed plot twist throughout the whole novel. First I’ll talk about the characters.
Jaz isn’t your typical teenage girl. She likes to kick butt and is actually very good at it. Normally this would be a Mary Sue alert, but who wouldn’t be good when they’ve spent their whole childhood learning how to fight? It’s a realistic progression in that way and it makes Jaz a very interesting character. She grows throughout the book, both in her love of Ryan and in her personal life. Jaz isn’t sure about life after school but I like how she takes her time to come to her own decision and doesn’t feel pressured to do one thing or the other. Ryan, the secret agent, is an okay character. He’s pretty much your typical tortured secret agent but he does have some other qualities that make him a three dimensional character.
The main disappointment for me was the lack of surprises in the plot. Pretty much everything was hinted at so obviously that you could see the next plot twist coming a mile away. Another thing I didn’t like was that the plot follows such a typical character arc for this type of novel. There was nothing new or innovative about the whole thing; most tropes were simply played straight. The characters are typical of such a novel as well but they were three dimensional so I didn’t mind that aspect. No, what disappointed me was the predictability of the plot.
Basically, this was an okay book for me. I would recommend it to some of my friends, but I certainly can’t offer a blanket recommendation for everyone. Basically, if you like contemporary YA that’s heavy on the romance you’ll probably like The Recruit. It just wasn’t the best book for me.
I give this book 3.5/5 stars.
Before They Find Us by Michelle A. Hansen
(Cover picture courtesy of Nicole Sobon.)
I’m going to make you wish you were dead.
Just a text. Seventeen-year-old Rebecca Hales tries not to worry. Probably a wrong number. Not really meant for her, and definitely not related to the crime she witnessed six years ago. Right?
Then two states away, a bomb goes off in her best friend’s locker. Soon Ryan is labeled a terrorist and runs to the safest place he knows—Rebecca’s house in small-town Wyoming. It doesn’t take long for the FBI to show up asking questions. Rebecca lies, of course, and says she hasn’t seen him.
Now she’s neck-deep in it with him, whatever “it” is. The only way out is to return to Vegas, where Ryan is a wanted man. The city of lies and illusion tests Rebecca’s wits as she struggles to find the person who framed Ryan and why.
Is Rebecca’s text linked to the bombing? And what does it have to do with a six year old murder? Rebecca needs to find out before she loses Ryan—and her own life.
[Full disclosure: This was a free gift to me from Michelle A. Hansen as a token of her appreciation and a review was not expected so of course, as always, this review is honest.]
There were more than a fair amount of clichés in Before They Find Us that any action movie fan will recognize, but overall I actually enjoyed this book.
The main strength of Michelle A. Hansen’s writing is her characters. Rebecca is definitely well-rounded and you really feel that she has some psychological problems as a result of her witnessing a murder at the age of 11. I like how her backstory is slowly revealed because it adds more depth to her character and it’s revealed at a more natural rate than if there was a huge info-dump at the beginning. At first I was a little confused about her relationship to Ryan but then things sorted themselves out and I felt like I knew each character intimately.
I definitely liked the plot twists in this one. There’s just twist after twist and the plot is so fast-paced that I couldn’t stop reading even for a moment. Just when you think it’s all over and the plot is going to wind down for the conclusion Michelle Hansen springs another surprise on you. Yes, there were some twists I could predict because I watch a lot of action movies, but for the main part I was pleasantly surprised at the plot twists. They felt more organic than forced.
The only thing I’m sort of ambivalent about is the premise/clichés. There wasn’t really anything completely unique in the novel and there was a heavy reliance on action/thriller clichés. I would have liked to see some new twists on old tropes but there wasn’t really any of that within the story. It was a good book, but with a few modifications it could have been a great book.
Still, if it sounds interesting to you I’d recommend giving it a try. It’s a heart-stopping read!
I give this book 4/5 stars.
Sharc by Paul Rudd
(Cover picture courtesy of The BunsyDawg Diary.)
It’s massive, it’s intelligent, it’s relentless and it’s always looking for its next meal or its next challenge.
Maxwell Baxter is intent on fulfilling his greatest ambition yet, and he is an ambitious man. He wants to build the largest floating aquarium in the world, an aquarium city, and fill it with all manner of monsters from the depths, the first being a presumed extinct Megalodon he has captured, a prehistoric monster shark currently only thirty-five feet long but destined to grow up to one hundred feet of raw, razor-toothed ravenous greed with extraordinary abilities to detect anything edible or threatening in the water for miles around.
In the midst of international financial negotiations to raise the rest of the money to complete his ARC, and with the Governor of California being entertained on his private yacht on his way to review the facility, the Megalodon escapes and begins to terrorize everything in the Pacific, ships and other sea creatures alike, no matter what their size.
Maxwell Baxter’s future rests on a knife-edge, and the Megalodon has a gigantic mouthful of them, each five inches long and giving it the capability to bite a small whale in half with one snap of its jaws.
With a Megalodon about, if you are thinking of getting back into the water, don’t flatter yourself – you’ll barely be a snack.
[Full disclosure: I received a free paperback copy from Paul Rudd in exchange for an honest review.]
In some respects, Sharc reads a lot like a B list action movie, but at the same time Paul Rudd remains fully aware of this and occasionally pokes fun of himself in his writing. The comparisons to Jaws, the allusions to James Bond, etc. show that he didn’t take himself too seriously when writing Sharc, which is a good thing. It definitely helped me buy more into the premise and just enjoy the book for what it was rather than constantly nitpick over plausibility.
Sometimes the constant changing of points of view annoys me, but Paul Rudd managed to toe the line between head-hopping and moving the plot forward. The point of view changed often enough to make things interesting, but not so much that I couldn’t connect with the characters either. In fact, some of my favourite characters include the spoiled rich boy Tyler Baxter and the diver Morgan. Both have great character arcs and are just overall interesting characters. I wouldn’t go so far as to call them amazing, but the characters were good in that they were well-developed and changed throughout the story.
There are quite a few subplots throughout Sharc, but they don’t distract from the main plot: the fact that there’s a prehistoric shark on the loose. In fact, the subplots with the development of the ARC and the characters’ struggles just add to the tension the shark creates throughout the book. With the shark, it’s like waiting for a shoe to drop because you know it’s going to strike, but you don’t know where and when. You don’t even know if you can stop it. So I suppose Sharc could also be classified as horror, in that when you think about it, the idea of a great big shark swimming around devouring humans is pretty terrifying.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Sharc by Paul Rudd. You just really have to take it for what it is: a plot-based thriller, not necessarily hard science fiction.
I give this book 4.5/5 stars.
Conversations in the Abyss by Michael Brookes
(Cover picture courtesy of The Yellow-Haired Reviewer.)
Stealing Lazarus’s miracle gifted him immortality. Combined with his natural ability of invading and controlling people’s minds this made him one of the most dangerous people on Earth.
But the miracle came with a price. His punishment was to be imprisoned within the walls of an ancient monastery and tormented by an invisible fire that burned his body perpetually. To escape the pain he retreated deep into his own mind.
There he discovers the truth of the universe and that only he can stop the coming Apocalypse.
[Full disclosure: Michael Brookes sent me a free ebook in exchange for an honest review.]
I didn’t really like Conversations in the Abyss as much as I liked the first book in The Third Path trilogy, The Cult of Me. Not because it’s a bad book, but because it’s a completely different tone than the first book. I’d be lying if I said I hated Conversations in the Abyss, but I’m definitely feeling more neutral toward this book.
Part of my problem seems to be, as I said, the change in tone. Whereas the first book focused on the unnamed main character’s journey into evil and his subsequent saving of the world, this second book focuses more on the philosophical aspect of the coming Apocalypse. It seems that the Church’s actions at the end of the first novel may have inadvertently made the Apocalypse come a little sooner, but that’s beside the point. The point is that Michael Brookes is getting very philosophical in Conversations in the Abyss. There’s an interesting origins story of Heaven and Hell and the fall of Lucifer and also some explanation for why God isn’t intervening in the world. All from a Christian perspective, but it doesn’t get preachy. Just philosophical and if you’re someone who likes philosophy like I do, it’s fascinating.
Of course there’s some suspense and some amazing plot twists thrown in at the end, but there just wasn’t the kind of glued to the screen tension I felt in the first book. If you’re someone that doesn’t mind slow but consistent plots, Conversations in the Abyss is great, but if you’re looking for the energy of the first book you may be a little disappointed.
The characters were okay in this installment, but nothing more. From the brief glimpses we got of him, Pierre was a compelling Antichrist. Our unnamed narrator changed a little bit because of his predicament, but there was more focus on the dialogue between himself and the fallen angel Venet than on his characterization.
I give this book 3.5/5 stars.
The Cult of Me by Michael Brookes
(Cover picture courtesy of M.R. Gott’s Cutis Anserina.)
For years he dwelt apart. With his unique ability he invades and destroys their lives. Now, bored of the game he decides to enact a bloody last stand, but while preparing his plan in prison he discovers he’s not as unique as he once thought.
[Full disclosure: Michael Brookes sent me a free ebook in exchange for an honest review.]
Well, I certainly can’t accuse Michael Brookes of relying on clichés too much because just when I thought I knew how things were going to end, he changed everything up. Yes, there was the whole villain reluctantly working for the good guys to save the world aspect, but there are so many twists on this trope that I can’t fault him for that.
The story starts off with our unnamed narrator in prison, feeling very smug about himself. Through events at the prison and flashbacks (but never in the same chapter so it isn’t confusing!) we learn that he has incredible psychic powers. He can control people’s minds and even kill people with just the power of his own mind, which he discovered on the night of his mother’s murder. The flashbacks that happen every other chapter allow us to slowly realized what caused him to acquire his present smug, brilliantly evil attitude. From a psychological standpoint, it’s fascinating.
I wasn’t really sure where Michael Brookes was going with this until he delved into the whole coming apocalypse angle. That wasn’t that surprising or unique. However, his approach to the apocalypse was in that the man trying to bring it about is one you’d never, ever think of on your own. The best part about this scenario is that Michael Brookes presents it so that both readers who are familiar with the Bible and readers who aren’t can understand it. You don’t have to be a theologian or even Christian to help piece together the puzzle.
My only real complaint about The Cult of Me was that things could have been proofread better. There are times where quotation marks face the wrong way or shouldn’t be there and missing periods, which are more likely run-on sentences. Still, I wasn’t so distracted that I didn’t enjoy the book and I think Michael Brookes has a great idea here going with The Cult of Me. I can’t wait to see what the next book brings after that huge cliffhanger.
I give this book 4/5 stars.
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